This disclosure relates to the manufacture of arbitrary three-dimensional structures on a substrate. Specifically, a method is disclosed for creating three-dimensional structures having dimensions in the micron level, as well as an article of manufacture made from the method which creates three dimensional objects having dimensions in the micron level.
Photolithography has been used for many years to create circuit details for electronic devices. Specifically, the techniques are used to deposit on a substrate layers of material which can be formed into three-dimensional circuit components. A photolithography provides the ability to create from a mask circuit features in the micron level which can be created on the substrate through a combination of deposition, exposure to light through a mask and developing images formed on the substrate. The resulting structures are electrical components which function as transistors and resistor elements which are interconnected in accordance with the mask used to create the layout.
In the field of photonic crystals, there is a need to create small optical (photonic) circuit elements on a substrate having periodic structures with dimensions at the micron level. Also, micro-fluidic devices have been developed which have components with micro-channels also having dimensions in the micron range. Each of these technologies could benefit from a method of manufacture of precision three-dimensional components on a substrate.